Developer faces delays amidst new launches

With developers across the emirate announcing new projects each day, there is now a backlog in getting approvals from relevant authorities, says one firm. Dubai has announced a line-up of new developments over the past year. However, for one developer this has caused a backlog in the approvals process, resulting in months of delays.
Indigo Properties had been planning to launch its new Zen master development near Arabian Ranches in May but is still unsure whether it will be approved in time for the annual Cityscape real estate event in September.
Director Anand Lakhiani told Arabian Business the project already had been awaiting approval for six months. “The approvals process has taken longer than estimated; there are too many authorities and approvals that are required for a community development,” Lakhiani said.
“There’s a lot of projects they have to look at and that’s slowing down the process. There’s too much happening.”
More than a dozen master developments have been announced in the past 18 months as Dubai recovers from the downturn that saw property prices crash by up to 60 percent.
Property values have risen more than 30% since the beginning of 2013, while an expected surge in population, mostly due to the emirate hosting the World Expo in 2020, also has led to forecasts of a housing shortage unless tens of thousands of new residences are built.